University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Top Questions

Given the opportunity to talk to myself in the past, I would say there are many things I wish I knew back then. In my senior year I needed a huge wake up call. I did not take college as seriously as I do now. The most important advice I could give to my past self is to start planning college right away. I believe I hesitated too much to begin college and was afraid of it. I wasn't sure what college to go to or what to major in. I kept changing my goals of what I wanted to study. However, I have come a long way in the past few years and I feel I am much more mature. I just wish I had the knowledge and maturity I do now. I believe I am ready to begin college now, and I have learned many things since I graduated high school. Most importantly, I am proud of myself for getting over my anxieties and beginning my future.

I would advise myself to branch out more and earlier to get involved in the community and branch out past my comfort zone earlier.

Stay in a habit of studying and putting your best effort in your work. This habit will come in handy in college. Nothing feels more rewarding than having your work be graded as one of the best in your class. There will be times where you feel like you're not understanding the material or the work is too challenging. Don't be afraid to seek help from your professors or tutors. They are there to help you and want nothing but your success. You will make a lot of friends during your time in college. Some will help you with your studies and some will distract you. Be aware of who's there to help you and surround yourself with friends who are ambitious as you. Their dreams and goals will remind you of your dreams and goals. Remember, you are stronger than you think.

I would tell myself to stay confident - college is a place to not only learn lectures in the classroom but it is a place to learn about yourself in so many different ways. I wish I had not be so nervous to make good impressions, be extremely studious, say the right things and do the right things, because everyone at UofM ended up being so supportive and accepting of each other. It is extremely important to COMPLETELY be yourself, love yourself and be confident about doing so.

Senior year of high school was quite difficult; I lost my best friends to petty drama, and I struggled with depression. If I could talk to my high school self, I would desperately try to communicate that high school is fleeting, just like the promises made by friends. The people I met in high school hardly make up a fraction of all the people I have yet to meet in my life. So, in the grand scheme of things, it hardly matters if my best friend decides she hates me halfway through our last year together. She is only one of the countless friends I will make in my life. I think this fact is so important. It is hard to project how easily or quickly we, as humans, will move on from heartbreak. But human beings are incredibley resilient, and life moves on. Senior year was one blip on my radar. Now I am in college with many new friends. Some advice high school-me could have benefitted from is that time heals all wounds.

Dear High School Mylaica, You are brilliant and you are unique… you are also a minority. You are preparing to go to college where diversity isn’t like the diversity at Carman Ainsworth High School, there are only about 4{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students “like you” attending your school of choice. Use that you are to your advantage. Don’t forget, college is expensive and your parents aren’t rich. Loans have to be paid back, you know. Apply for as many scholarships as you can, and grab the most useful opportunities that you can. Networking isn’t something that high school students really do, but hey, I know better, get a head start. Read all the assigned readings, Spark Notes isn’t going to be available for much longer. Stay focused and it isn’t necessary to go into college knowing exactly where you want to be and what you want to be. Explore a little. Again, apply for scholarships; the more loans you take out the more you have to pay back. With Love, 2.5 Years into College, Mylaica

Dear Hannah, Please do not be afraid of the change that is coming. Go to Umich with an open mind and an outgoing demeanor. The experience will be what you make of it. Join and remain in organizations that you are passionate about and do not loose sight of your goal! Your goal is to not only survive here but exceed and surpass all expectations. Get to know your professors and your graduate instructors; they will help you in any way that they can. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Boys will come and go but your girlfriends will be there forever, don't take them for granted. Keep up with your faith, it will help keep you grounded when life gets tough. Try not to pull too many all-nighters, and if you are going to partake once you're of age, don't make bad decisions. What you do today could affect your forever. Most of all, laugh when you want to cry and keep your head up - enjoy the roller coaster of your next 4 years! Best, Your Future Self

Dear past me, I would like to take a moment and impart some advice onto you that I wish I had known before I started college. So, here it is: In the first few days before classes start, go out and meet people. I know we have social anxiety and sitting down with a group of strangers is terrifying, but still, try your best. On the first day, talk to the people in your Japanese class. They are some of the best people on campus and I wish I had gotten to know them sooner. The last thing I want you to do is make a greater effort to talk to your roommate Kelly. She is a kind girl, and you share a lot of common interests. Both of you are shy, so conversation may be awkward in the beginning; but I think you two could be close friends if you try a little harder than I did. I spent a lot of time cooed up in my room and now I regret not meeting people when I had the chance. The transition is exponentially harder than you expect, but don't get too depressed; it gets easier. I promise.

Though the transition to college is difficult, get out there and make friends. People will tell you to get over your high school friendships and relationships and they are both wrong and right. You do not need to minimize the importance of those relationships, but you need to recognize that they will change. Focus on being present and creating a life at school.

My first year of college was difficult. I started the year bumpy. Trying to understand who I was made things so complicated. I did not want the choices of the past to affect my future. It’s strange grasping the idea that the person I was before is not the person I am now. If there is one piece of advice I could give anyone, it would be to remain true to yourself. I can't recall how many times I seemed to wander away from who I really was and in those moments I seemed to loose so many opportunities. I have made many mistakes and now I need to learn to live with them, however I woud encourage everyone to set some time apart for themselves every week. On a college campus things become hectic and remember your personal values can become a challenge. Remind your-self of your goals and remember the type person you are is defined by your actions.

Stop worrying so much. I spent my entire second semester of high school worrying about moving away from home and all of my friends. In the weeks leading up to my move, I was terrified and almost regretting my decision to go to a college out of state. I wish I could tell myself that it wasn't going to be that bad. Looking back on how scared I was makes me laugh now. I have so many friends and amazing opportunities here. I love the people I surround myself with and the organizations I'm a part of. I love my classes and my professors. I can't imagine myself being anywhere else. So stop worrying. You made the right choice.

If I could give any advice to myself, back when I was a high school senior, it would be to minimize expectations. During my senior year I would get so wrapped up in others stories about their college experience, whether it was from my parents, my teachers or my older friends, I had created this mental journal of their stories, expecting my experience to amount to something similar to their's. Now that I am in college and I am wrapping up my first semester I realize that the college experience is an individualized experience. My time in university is going to be different from all other past, present and future college students. With all the different factors that sum up the college experience I am surprised I ever thought that I had a pre-written destiny. Factors which I believe have shaped my college experience so far are my academic classes, my study routines, my social scene, my job and my campus's location. All these elements have created distinguished and unique memories for me, so if I were to go back to talk to myself I would say to enter college with an open mind.

If I could give my high-school-self one piece of advice, I would tell myself to jump into everything headfirst in college. During my freshman year, I was hesitant to try new things, reluctant to talk to professors and upperclassmen and averse to getting out of my comfort zone. I should have tried more things and been more unafraid, because the few times that I did succeed in trying something new, I genuinely enjoyed it and learned so much about myself. Without trying new things during my freshman year, I would not have known that I was interested in entertainment. However if I had started college unafraid, I could have found this out earlier, and gotten more experience in my chosen field. I would have put myself out there, made more friends, and really gotten the most out of my freshman year. Therefore, not just myself, but all high schoolers should know that they should try everything, be adventurous, and start becoming the young adults they are meant to be.

If you want to do nursing or kinesiology or want to go to grad school or PHD go to easy school and get good GPA!!!!!!

Keep studying, reading, and writing though the summer before college. The transition from no school to college is a tough one, and it would have been ideal to not have to adjust directly into it. If I had kept my study habits consistent, this would have been a much easier change.

If I could go back in time and speak with my high school self, I would encourage myself to be proactive in exploring careers and connecting my college education to the "real world." I would tell myself to seriously consider a business centric engineering degree or at least take more math/statistics to develop and demonstrate my analytic capabilities. Instead of being involved with several organizations, I would suggest to myself that I find one I love and assume a leadership position. Because the amount I borrowed in student loans didn't feel real until I graduated, I would suggest taking a job that offered more hours and spend more time researching and applying to scholarships. Reflercting on the positive, I would also show support for studying abroad and make sure that happened again.

I would tell myself to not have so many expectations. Let everything happen as it happens. You cannot plan out your entire college career. Nothing ever goes as plan. So just take one day at a time or you will overwhelm yourself. You won't automatically become friends with everyone you meet. You don't need a ton of friends, you just need the right friends for you. As for school, you will have ALOT of free time, more than you will even know what to do with, so use your time efficiently and wisely. Most of all, you are not alone. Everyone is stressed. Everyone has a tiny melt downs.Everyone feels pressure to be a certain way. Talk to someone, let it out. It will make you feel better and make the college ride a whole lot smoother.

College can be a huge place to navigate and often times you can get lost in its vastness. If I could go back and give myself advice, it would be to be more open and try out different things. One way to accomplish this is by joining different organizations; by doing this, you become a part of a smaller community within the massive community of college, this would make the university seem less intimidating. You can discover more about yourself and your interests by joining these communities as well as develop close friendship with the people within them. I would also tell myself that it is okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are actually crucial to make; otherwise, how would you learn from them; it is essential in the growth process and developing keen insight which leads to the ultimate wisdom and maturity. Instead of being taunted by every mistake whether small or large, take on a different perspective to them and see them as a learning opportunity as opposed to a downfall.

If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to be more comfortable with proffesors as guides, teachers, and great contacts for later. It is always difficult for me to start something out of my comfort zone, but it is neccassary to make relations with these great doctors. I would also discuss carrer options with myself; being concerned with making a quick descision lead me down some wrong turns in my original decision for a major. Many students do enter without knowing their field of study, and although it is benificial to have a general idea, most universities do not require decleration until the end of sophmore year. Especialy at the University of Michigan, I am in the LSA program wich gives a broad base of many subjects, and I have recently decided on a different but similar major to my high school ambitions. Careers should be chosen becuase they are both challening and rewarding to the employee.

I had lots of expectations about what my College Experience would be like. Some were about grades and majors, but most were about parties, sex, drugs, philosophical debates, frisbee, sex, drugs, political debates, etc. But what I didn't realize then, and what I'd like to communicate to my senior-in-high-school self, is that these kinds of personal expectations can be limiting and sometimes harmful. In our society we have great expectations about what students' College Experience should be like. The question I want my senior-in-high-school self to ask himself is this: "Whose expectations do I possess? My own or someone else's?" Hopefully this initial question will be thought-provoking and lead to further questions like: "What is the nature of these expectation of mine?" "Does it match my high goals and desires?" and, lastly, "Are these expectations good or bad for me and what I really truly want out of life (and college)?" The College Experience should be free and fluid. Expectations are helpful for planning our futures, but we should be careful that we aren't mindlessly adopting the expectations of others, especially when they conflict with what we actually want.